Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Russians on Friday to stage protests over Russian forces' seizure of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
A building at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was set ablaze during intense fighting, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday, triggering fears of a potential nuclear disaster. The blaze was later extinguished.
"Russian people, I want to appeal to you: how is this possible? After all we fought together in 1986 against the Chernobyl catastrophe," Mr Zelenskyy said in a televised address, evoking memories of the world's worst nuclear disaster.
"You have to ... take to the streets and say that you want to live, you want to live on earth without radioactive contamination. Radiation does not know where Russia is, radiation does not know where the borders of your country are."
Russia's defence ministry blamed the attack at the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Ukrainian saboteurs, calling it a monstrous provocation.
Russian forces that invaded Ukraine last week have already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant north of Kyiv, which spewed radioactive waste over much of Europe after an accident there in April 1986.
Analysts have said the Zaporizhzhia plant is a different and safer type, but Mr Zelenskyy said that now was not the time to be silent.
"You have to remember the burning graphite scattered by the explosion, the victims. You have to remember the glow over the destroyed power unit, the evacuation," he said.
"How can you forget that? And if you have not forgotten, you should not be silent."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks at a press conference at his official residence in Kyiv on 3 March 2022. Credit: Laurent Van Der Stockt/Getty Images
Forty-seven people were killed in Russian air strikes on a residential district of the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Thursday, regional authorities said on Friday, updating an earlier death toll of 33 killed.
Rescue work had to be suspended on Thursday due to heavy shelling, according to the local emergency services.
World leaders condemn Russia
Western leaders on Friday strongly condemned the Russian attack on the nuclear plant, accusing Moscow of endangering millions of people by launching a full-blown war in Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed concerns about the safety of people all over Europe.
"The reckless actions of President Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe," he said in a statement.
NATO's Jens Stoltenberg also condemned the "recklessness".
"This just demonstrates the recklessness of this war and the importance of ending it and the importance of Russia withdrawing all its troops and engaging good faith in diplomatic efforts," he said.
A statement from the office of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi referred to the move as a "heinous attack".
"Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi condemns the heinous attack by Russia on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, an attack on everyone’s security," the statement said.
"The European Union should continue to react with unity and with the utmost determination, together with its allies, to support Ukraine and protect European citizens," the statement said.
The Norwegian Prime Minister also expressed "strong condemnation", saying, "This kind of attack is madness."
